THE RAMBLINGS OF A STRUGGLING ARTIST ON LIFE WITH TWO TERRIERS, A PONY WITH ISSUES AND OTHER WILDLIFE AND BIRDS THAT CROSS OUR PATH

12 September 2014

SNAKEBITE AND SEA BIRDS

Poor Jack got bitten by an Adder on Monday. I had no idea until he staggered out of his bed looking like a jowly old Labrador who had swallowed a tennis ball. I rushed him to the vets' twenty miles away and he was put on a drip with anti-venom and fluids. I brought him home later that afternoon and he slept until the next morning.

By morning he was much better. Still puffy but better and after another visit to the vets' for a check up, the bill totaled nearly £500. That's a very expensive snake bite. Thank goodness he's okay and today there was no swelling at all and he is back to his ridiculously bouncy self. Phew.

And so to the holiday birds. Few words required.......Herring Gulls:

Cormorants:

Egret:

Oystercatchers:

This one makes me laugh every time I look at it:

I can't tell you how grateful I am for all your comments on the last post. I felt so much better for reading them. Since writing it, we have had a call from Great Ormond Street offering us a full assessment for Aspergers, or whatever we are supposed to be calling it now, for OB this coming Monday. This is something for which there is a TWO YEAR waiting list in Devon and then these assessments might be spread over months before eventually getting an official diagnosis. They are offering to do the whole thing in a day, dedicating a number of members of their team to the task. It's like a different world up there and we are forever in their debt. OB has reverted to Origami with the start of the new term so his blog name becomes relevant again. He is teaching me to solve the Rubik's cube which is a slow business but I'm getting there. With the increased dexterity that comes with age, he is making more complex pieces. So far there have been ten of these hedgehogs which he will be giving to the staff at GOSH. I don't know how he does it - it's only about 2 inches long.

Right - time to get on. Think of us on Monday and have a great weekend, whatever you are doing. So until next time, here are a sandy Snippet, Snakebite Jack on a rock and OB throwing one.

56 comments:

Poor Jack! I'm so glad he is doing better...such a sweet photo of Snippet with him.

Your Herring Gull photos are incredible! So many wonderful shots! The others were great also, but really loved all the close ups of the Gulls.

So glad you are getting OB in to the best place. My thoughts will be with you. I have never experienced what you are going through, only know one other person here in our area that is dealing with it also and she is stressed beyond belief.

I learned origami when we were in Japan in my 3rd grade class. I really need to do a refresher course as it is such a beautiful art. OB's is very good!

Good luck with the Rubik's cube. I still can't control the damn thing even with the directions!!

Had my back injected Wednesday, still sore. Finally had gone to a new ortho and am very pleased. Looks like the end results will be fusing the disc up from where the other fusion ends. Not thrilled with the process of more surgery, but have reached the end of my rope and have to do something or buy a wheelchair!

Happy to hear OB is being seen by the best. His origami is so cool! Poor Jack, I had no idea there were adders on Dartmoor. Hope he is back to his old self very soon. Marvelous photos of the birds and the last ones of OB and Jack are lovely. I will be keeping you all in my thoughts.

Cripes! That was a close call, thank goodness he's OK. Don't your boys look sweet in their basket together? Marvellous hedgehog! Clever boy. I haven't forgotten the Poppy commission, as long as you're happy to get an email out of the blue saying 'I've finally got the right picture!" It will come, eventually.... xx

Poor poor Jack. What a clever vet to recognise the symptoms and what to do. I am so glad he is better - a nasty call. I love the photograph of Snippet watching over him sleeping it off. Dogs are so protective of eachother.The brids are great. I am a great fan of the oyster-catcher - they are just so smart-looking. You take really good wildlife pix and landscapes - I am sure you could put them with a picture library if the files are large enough, which I am sure they must be. And excellent news about Great Ormond Street. Will be thinking you on Monday.Take care - Lily xxx

Only because they're smaller. The vet was worried because the bite was so close to his brain. Wouldn't make a blind bit of difference quite frankly. He has no brain to start with. Very relieved he's okay. x

My heart bleeds for that boy Em - such a talent, such an interesting lad and with this horrible thing he just can't control. Do hope that GOSH can give him some help (I contribute monthly to their fund to build extra housing for parents of very sick children - and I wish I could contribute more).Sorry about that snake bite - poor old Jack - doesn't he look snug under that rug - and how touching that his pal goes and lies with him. Good luck at GOSH.That vet's bill is some bill - but then you don't see many poor vets about do you?

So glad Jack is doing better!What a horror - and what an expense. Poor all of you.So glad OB is getting proper care and diagnosis. This must be an on-going stress for you all too.Lucky that he has a caring and attentive Mum! love to you all.

What a roller coaster you have been on! Life chucks everything at you sometimes. Beautiful pictures as usual. I was hoping to see a Cornish Chough while we were away but no luck. I think binoculars may help with identification, but I'm never quick enough with a camera to catch much.

Was that a snowy egret I see there among the gulls? It looks beautiful. Ours are on the endangered loist. but we have some around here. So glad Jack has recovered. He seems to be such a rambunctious dog full of energy and mischief. I love his attitude.

Aren't they beautiful Chris? I'm pretty sure it's a Little Egret but our names are often different fro yours for the same bird. Amber status here which isn't TOO bad. I'd like some of that plumage on my head..........sort of.

As though you needed a snake-bitten dog and a huge vet bill!~ Sometimes life just seems to throw a great deal at one. Dogs---and cats--will poke and sniff at something they should leave alone.As always, your photos are inspiring. I can't imagine the concentration required to make the paper art.

Vet bills. Oh My Goodness I know how that feels.Here in Tucson they have Rattlesnake meds that you can store for your dog at the vets. It is a huge deal here. That is one reason my dogs have always walked on a lead. But if I lived where you do The Square Ones would be just like Julie Andrews in the Sound Of Music.So happy to hear Jack is doing better.

That's a good idea Parsnip and having just got back from a walk which has ended with him limping into the house licking his leg, I wish it was in place here. I've given him an antihistamine I had left over from the last episode and am keeping a close eye on him. Sigh. Love the image of the square ones twirling to 'the hills are alive.....'.

Thank goodness you found Jack before it was too late! It sounds like he's recovered before your bank account! I spied both dogs in the photo Weaver posted - did you notice the tiny bit of Snippet disappearing from view? Best of luck with GOSH, and the performance getting through London, we'll all be sending 'good thoughts' your way on Monday.

It went really well - thanks Virginia. A grueling day for all of us but mostly OB who was in with the psychologists for over six hours in total, poor love. He coped so well and in three weeks we'll have a concrete diagnosis of Aspergers or whatever they wish to define it as. It means he'll be understood at secondary school, or at least that's the aim. Lovely to hear from you - I hope everything is well with you over there on the other side of the world.

I'm so glad to hear Jack is recovering - what a worrying and expensive experience :( I hope all goes well with the appointment at Great Ormond Street. Love the origami by the way and your photos are, as always, beautiful.

Oh you poor thing...what a huge vet bill on top of all the stress and worry. We have a lot of Adders in Brixham and this very warm sunny weather means they are active at the moment. It's always a worry.Great news about Gt OS, I hope it's a very successful day.

A last rush of lizard catching before winter I suppose. The day was very successful if only because that's it for assessment and we can move onward I hope. They are SO nice there and never seem to be looking everything rather than constantly passing the buck as we have experienced down here. Hope all's well on your bit of the coast. x

So pleased that Jack is okay. Thank goodness you got him to the vets in time. There have been dogs here bitten that were not as lucky!

All the best on Monday. What a good idea assessing in one day. I'm sure the recipients of OB's hedgehogs will be very impressed...so clever, and I guess focuses his mind for the time he is creating them.

Glad Jack is on the mend, one of our friends in Cornwall's collie suffered an adder bite on the foot as well this summer, so easy if there are a lot of snakes around.So glad OB is getting top star treatment, he deserves it but it is a long haul up to London. Do take care all of you and that includes Jack x